Solo Girl
by villainous
Summary: Linnet's a slayer who gets banished into a futuristic world with no demons and strange beings with pointy ears named Spock who aren't evil but, in her opinion, are highly suspicious. Can a slayer ever be a "normal" girl? Buffyverse elements.
1. Foolishness

_A/N: trying this idea out. Let me know what you think. A little background regarding slayers is included in this chapter, so if you aren't familiar with the series no worries! Hopefully it won't be too confusing. The basic idea: slayers fight demons and vampires, and they're always young women.  
_

* * *

**Solo Girl  
**_Foolishness_

A tall, scholarly man sat in a tiny room. It resembled an office, except there was no computer. The place was cramped; all four walls were lined from floor to ceiling with bookshelves, weighted down by heavy ancient tomes of all the lore and legend available to the man. In the middle, there was a sturdy table, and two chairs. A Mr. Ian Hadley occupied one of these, and in the other was a young woman in a blue dress, glaring fiercely.

"I'm sorry, Linnet," said Hadley in a mumbled way. He adjusted his glasses anxiously, but then seemed to resolve his determination. "You cannot stop her on your own."

The young woman shook her head, two long braids swaying with the gesture. "I can take her." She leaned forward eagerly, desperately, her green eyes hard and obstinate. "I can if you just let me _try_."

"You already tried!" Hadley exclaimed. Normally a stiff man in his tweed suits, he fell apart in the face of Linnet's ambitiousness — which was often more like recklessness. "She nearly killed you, or did you forget?"

Linnet sat back in her chair. Her bottom lip protruded in something akin to an angry pout. "She got lucky that time," she muttered. The worry in her watcher's eyes didn't escape her. "Hadley, I'm a _slayer_ —"

"As though I don't know that."

She ignored the interruption. "She's just a little witchy demon bitch. It's not like she's a hell god. She's not the First, for Christ's sake!" She sighed. "I can take her, _without_ a whole army behind me."

Hadley tore of his glasses and leveled her with a stern gaze, an annoying habit that seemed universal among watchers. "Linnet, I know you are determined to prove yourself. I know you want to be recognized among the likes of Buffy … but this is foolish. I'm calling in as many slayers as we can get. I might even see about contacting Willow."

Linnet gaped. "For _this_? You're going to bother them all for _this_?! One demon! God, they'll think I'm inept."

"You underestimate Hecateri. This is _serious_, Linnet. Apocalypse serious."

"Yeah, and I handled the last one just fine without any backup dancers."

"I forbid you to engage her." Her watcher's eyes softened. "Please, tell me you won't do anything to get yourself hurt."

Grudgingly, Linnet nodded, and agreed to heed her watcher's will. But, well, her legs were crossed underneath the table, and of course that invalidated any promises.

* * *

At nineteen-years-old, Linnet Dalton was getting on in age for a slayer. She knew she had to be good to survive this long, even acknowledging that the job really wasn't quite as fatal as once was. Since the activation of all the potentials, it'd been fairly easy work. There were hundreds of slayers scattered across the States, and that had the demons and baddies of the night tiptoe-ing around, creating as little havoc as possible. Where Linnet was stationed in Richmond, Virginia, nine times out of ten the dead bodies that popped up were courtesy of your run-of-the-mill human killers. Sometimes she went a whole week without dusting a damn thing.

Still, evil went down, and it wasn't always a fair match. It took real presence of mind and skill not to get stabbed with your own stake, and Linnet was very aware of it.

She was good. She trained every day, nearly all day. Sometimes she missed school to train, though she did try to be a good student. She just couldn't see how math for the liberal arts was half as important as her "destiny." Staring at numbers in class and knowing that vampires roamed the earth kinda made sitting still a bit tough.

The point was, she could take one lone demon, super strong and witching powers be damned.

As she approached the old warehouse, she felt a spike of hesitation in her gut. The thought that this might be stupid, that Hadley might be 100% right, invaded her mind against her will. It was true, after all, that her last encounter with Hecateri hadn't gone well. Linnet had barely escaped with her life, and the next day she missed English _and_ Geology because of her wounds.

She inhaled deeply. Now was not the time to have doubts. Resolute, she pushed through the heavy delivery doors with ease, but her bravado crumbled at what she saw before her.

Hecateri stood upon a dais, donned in black, unflattering robes, her bald yellow head shimmering beneath the electric lights. At her feet was a giant cauldron, the contents of which seemed to be boiling, and surrounding her — oh, just six kailiff demons. And they were all staring at her.

_Okay_, Linnet thought to herself_, what keeps a good slayer alive?_

"Knowing when to run," she muttered to herself, before turning around swiftly.

She'd barely taken one step when the raspy voice of Hecateri ordered, "Halt!"

For reasons that were probably magical in nature, Linnet was dismayed to find that she obeyed.

"Turn around."

She was horrified when she did.

Hecateri smiled a hideous, sharp-toothed smile. "Slayer. You're more of a fool than I took you for."

Linnet smiled back unhappily. "Yeah, it seems that way, doesn't it?"

The demon woman stepped down from the dais, approaching the slayer with a brutish gait as the kailiff minions lined up behind her. Hecateri leant down to stare Linnet in the eyes.

"How does it feel, knowing tonight is the night you're going to die?"

Quashing the fear rapidly overwhelming her, Linnet stuck her nose in the air. "Fabulous, knowing there's a whole army of slayers on their way to kick your ass back to hell."

Hecateri's greenish lips turned down in a snarl. "You slayers think you rule the world," she declared bitterly.

"Maybe because we do?"

Linnet's head snapped to the side as Hecateri backslapped her. The teenager winced, but otherwise made no acknowledgement of the stinging pain in her jaw.

"I should teach you a lesson," said the demon bitch.

"Don't bother, I always fall asleep during lessons," Linnet quipped. Discreetly, she tried to move her legs, but she was completely immobile. _Oh, hell_.

The kailiff demons were looking restless, but Hecateri seemed to be thinking. "A single slayer is weak."

Linnet let out a short bark of laughter. "Where have you been all of history?"

Hecateri's gaze shifted back to her. "Before that witch changed everything, slayers barely ever made it to eighteen years. Why? Because they were alone. You're foolish, girl. You'd be dead by now if the world were still as it was."

Indignant, Linnet scowled. "Please, I'd still be _exactly_ where I am." Ignoring the fact that where she was, she was about to be killed, barring the appearance of a much hoped for deus ex machina.

Hecateri grinned wickedly. "Ah, we'll see how long you survive in a random world, all on your own." She took a step back from the slayer, gesturing for the kailiff demons to stay behind her.

"What?" Linnet demanded. "What are you doing?"

She began to chant, slowly at first, and then quickly, in a language the young woman before her didn't recognize. The words lilted and twisted in an eerie way, Hecateri's voice rising and falling. Linnet became seriously alarmed when shimmering tendrils of light encircled first her feet, then her legs, as the spell climbed up her body. In vain, she struggled to move.

"What are you doing!" she shouted above the chanting, all pretense of calm abandoned. Her soft features contorted in panic. Hecateri's focus was not broken.

Finally the light engulfed her, and abruptly went out. The chanting ceased. The fetid smell emanating from the cauldron vanished. The world crumbled away, and the slayer was left in the black.

* * *

_A/N: so, thoughts? Good idea, bad idea? Should I continue? Reviews of all kinds are very much appreciated.  
_


	2. Discoveries

**Solo Girl  
**_Discoveries_

An eternity passed. Or it felt like it, at least. Either way, enough time had gone by to leave Linnet feeling bored. One can only be frantic for so long, and she'd been terrified out of her wits for ages; fearing what she was going through, what was going to happen next, where she would end up. And so far absolutely nothing had happened.

She was tired of it. This _nothingness_ that she seemed to be floating in was agonizingly static. She puffed out a breath of air, but didn't hear it. A while ago the fact that she was apparently deaf nearly had her crying; now, she was almost used to it. Idly, Linnet wondered if this was the world that hell bitch sent her to … but that would be horrible. All at once the panic returned full force, flooding her system with adrenalin. If this was really her destination, this endless black with no sound and no nothing — that was torture. That was insanity! Not even the mind of a slayer could withstand that for more than a few weeks. Mostly because the mind of slayer wasn't any different than the mind of a regular human, but still.

Her pulse quickened. But just as she was about to commit herself to a life of imaginary friends and deafening silence, she began to feel heavy.

Weight! Oh, hallelujah, gravity was returning. She found footing, balanced herself, and gazed around, ecstatic, as the black fell away, crumbling as though loose paint peeling.

She could hear again. She was in a field, or at least it seemed that way, and the sound of the wind again the grass was soothing. The grass was so tall, she couldn't see above it. The sky was blue and hazy, with fluffy white clouds drifting by. That was good at least. She caught sight of something odd though. Was that … was that _two_ suns?

Okay, well, now there were other things to worry about.

* * *

"Atmosphere is breathable, Captain," Sulu announced, swiveling around in his chair.

Captain James T. Kirk face broke into a wide grin. _Finally_. Finally, a potentially habitable planet. Since the incident with the Romulans, it was the first one they'd come across in four months. He beamed around at the crew.

"Now," he said, rubbing his hands together in boyish excitement, "we don't know what could be down there, so I want people with combat experience. Sulu. And my chief science officer, of course." He nodded at Spock, who rose from his own seat. "Let's go."

"Captain."

Jim turned his attention to the Vulcan, who stood elegantly by his dashboard, hands clasped behind his back. "Yes?"

"Would it not be wise to bring the whole team of planetary specialists?"

Jim scoffed. "Too cumbersome. They can go down later."

"I would try to reason with you," said Spock, the corner of his mouth quirking up so very slightly one would have to be waiting for it to notice, "but I can see you have your mind set."

The young captain's grin broadened. "Great! Let's go exploring, folks." Eagerly, he hopped up from his captain's chair. "Chekov, you're on deck."

"Aye aye, captin!" the Russian boy replied cheerily.

Jim and his companions headed off to the transporter room, Jim's stride a bit bouncier than usual. He was itching for some excitement. He hoped something interesting was to be found on this planet.

* * *

Linnet was kind of at a loss. A different world, she could deal with. Hadley had a bit of an obsession with alternate realities and the like, so she was at least prepared for that possibility. Another planet was something entirely different. Her heart was beating out of her chest.

She'd known, of course, that there might be hundreds of habitable planets out there, but the idea of actually seeing it was so far out of reach she never gave it a second's thought. She had enough to worry about battling the forces of darkness; she didn't need the possibility of aliens occupying her mind, too.

She took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly. When in doubt, it was best to slip into slayer-mode. Linnet closed her eyes, checking her senses. She felt her surroundings. There was nothing to set off alarm bells, and she was fairly confident in her spider-senses. Feeling safer, but not entirely comfortable in this strange place, she opened her eyes.

She wasn't sure what to do, but with her mind ever so slightly calmer, she decided to start walking. Left seemed to be the way to go, but whether that was slayer-intuition or a random guess wasn't really clear.

This planet was hot. The grass smelled nice, even though it was making her skin itchy, and the breeze was gentle, but it was just much too warm. Within minutes, she could feel the burn that was threatening to mar her face, and her dress was sticking to her uncomfortably. She had to wonder why she ever bothered buying nice things. They always got ruined.

Twenty minutes went by, and Linnet was still lost in the tall grass. She was beginning to realize how futile this situation was. She was completely helpless. She was so used to running to Hadley whenever anything came up that she was entirely lost on her own, and now he was nowhere she could reach him. Worst of all, that bitch Hecateri was still back on Earth, doing god knows what. She could only hope the other slayers had arrived in time to stop her.

Frustration was beginning to get the better of her. She was trapped here and she hated that, more than not knowing what was going on in Richmond. Desolate, she stopped. There was no point walking anywhere. Where was she going to go? Over there to that other endless patch of grass?

She groaned, dropping to the ground, crushing even more grass. Sitting cross-legged, she clutched her head and tried to keep the tears at bay, but the negative thoughts kept coming. There was no way to contact Hadley. No way to get out of this. She was on a weird planet of grass and heat. Feeling entirely alone, Linnet let her guard down and cried.

* * *

"Do you hear that?" Jim stopped in his tracks. Beside him, Spock and Sulu ceased their pace.

"Hear what, Captain?" asked Sulu, glancing around curiously. All they could see was grass.

"Shh!"

The Vulcan and two humans perked up their ears, listening intently. Sulu was about ready to declare that it was nothing when, in the distance, they heard a wail. Shortly following that, a female voice screamed something they couldn't make out, but there was no doubt she was anguished. Maybe even in trouble. At once, the captain and his first officer began sprinting, Sulu right behind them, in the direction of the sound.

* * *

"I'm such an idiot!" Linnet screeched, in the midst of a full on self-pity-party. She wailed, the tears streaming down her face freely, tracking black mascara in their wake. "What was I thinking? I shoulda listened, I shoulda listened. Oh, Hadley was right!" She collapsed into a heap on the ground, her hands over her head, heaving impressively sorrowful sobs.

Though she was making the biggest mistake any slayer could make — that is, not paying a lick of attention to her surroundings — Linnet felt them before she heard them. Her skin tingled and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. In reaction, her tears stopped immediately, and Linnet was on her feet in a flash, wide-eyed and action ready.

Now she heard them. The stomp of feet, the rustle of grass as they whipped past. There were several of them, whatever they were, and they were running in her direction. They were close.

Quietly, Linnet moved off to the right. She crouched down in the grass and waited.

Their pace slowed, and she heard voices presently. They were male, by the sound of them, and thankfully they spoke English.

"I don't hear anything," one was saying. "What happened to her?"

A cool, even voice spoke next. "It is reasonable to presume that she heard us and was frightened of being discovered."

Linnet smiled to herself. The best part about being a slayer was occasionally being able to kick around the guy who thought women were comparable to skittish kittens. Actually looking like one, as Linnet did with her pigtail braids and big eyes, made it even better.

"We have to find her. She could be a primitive inhabitant of this planet."

"What do you suggest, Captain?" asked the aloof voice.

"Should we split up?" another voice chimed in.

"No," said the first. "She was somewhere around here. I don't think she went far. Hang on." After a beat, he spoke again. "Chekov, I need a reading of life forms within twenty yards of where we are."

She heard a faint crackling, but couldn't discern the response.

"Yes, humanoid. Oh." The man lowered his voice then. Linnet couldn't hear what was said, but she knew when they were moving toward her. As silently as possible, she backed away and to the left, but they followed her. She moved forward. They followed. Right, and then left again.

_Shit_. Somehow they had her position. She tried to evade them as long as she could, making crop circles in the field, but it was useless, and her attempts to keep quiet slowed her down. They were very close. She could see the grass rustle as they moved, which meant they would see it if she did moved too.

She could run. But then again, her slayer alarms weren't going off, and staying out here by herself wasn't going to get her anywhere. Reluctantly, Linnet let herself be found. She didn't have much of a choice anyway.

The men broke through the grass, but one of them didn't immediately see her and just kept going. The blond man, donned in a green-yellow shirt, walked right into her, and would've tripped over her (for she was still crouched) had his companion not grabbed him back in time, with almost unnatural reflexes. She took note of this.

The three men stared down at her, and slowly Linnet rose, falling into a defensive stance as she eyed them. They were all young, in their mid-twenties probably, and seemed to be in uniforms of some kind. The blond man had a charismatic aura about him, and a look of triumph graced his features despite his near tumble. The man on his right was a handsome Asian fellow, and beside him stood the tallest of the three. His hair was pitch black, trimmed in an unusual fashion, and he had oddly slanted eyebrows. His face remained the perfect picture of practiced composure, though his eyes held a barely detectable hint of curiosity. And … no. No. His ears were _not_ pointed.

Linnet gawked.

Noticing her gaze, the pointy-eared man raised an eyebrow, but did not comment.

The blond man spoke up first. "We mean you no harm."

Her eyes snapped to his. "Who are you?" she demanded, glancing back and forth between him and the tall man's ears. Maybe "what" would've been the better question.

She hated these humanlike non-undead demons. They fooled her senses more than she cared to admit.

"Captain James T. Kirk, of the USS Enterprise. This —" he gestured to the demon "— would be my first officer, Commander Spock, and this is Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu."

"I'm sure I'm charmed. What do you want?"

The captain shared a glance with his first officer. "We heard you crying," he stated.

Linnet felt a blush rising to her cheeks. "I wasn't crying," she asserted uselessly. Like they couldn't see her puffy red eyes. "I was … uh. Well, it's none of your business, really."

"Right …" said the one called James. "Listen, we mean you no harm," he repeated. He took a step forward.

In reaction, Linnet stepped back swiftly, tightening her pose. She realized she was being a bit hostile and she didn't care. If they weren't planning to kill her or do horrible things to her, they could deal with it like gentlemen. "If you come any closer, I will kick your ass."

The men's eyes widened. The demon remained as calm as ever, watching her quietly.

James stepped back, holding up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, watch it now, I said we meant no harm."

"We were unaware that this planet was inhabited." The demon's voice was smooth, even. He was the one who had suggested she was frightened of being discovered. She wouldn't have hated the opportunity to prove him wrong.

"I don't inhabit this planet," Linnet protested. "And _what_ —" she pointed a finger at the demon " — the hell kinda demon are you?"

The demon raised one eyebrow delicately, but before he could reply James jumped to his defense. "Hey, Spock's not a demon! He's a Vulcan, one of the last."

She had no idea what that meant. She shrugged. "He's not human. Ergo, demon."

James glared at her now. "What kind of people raised you? Vulcans are our allies."

She bristled at the comment. "I don't ally myself with demons."

"He's not a demon! Demons don't exist."

"He's not human."

The two men looked absolutely baffled, while the Spock demon stated calmly, "I was born on the planet Vulcan. I am half-human."

Linnet shifted uncomfortably. It was a tricky situation. They could all be demons in guise for all she knew. Spock's demeanor unnerved her. He seemed mechanical, but underneath she could tell that he wasn't. The slayer racked her brain for a list of demons that had emotion, but suppressed it, and came up empty. This was one of those situations where she wished she paid more attention to Hadley.

What choice did she have but to trust them? And they were only three … if it turned out to be a mistake she could probably take them. As long as they didn't have any Hecateri-like powers.

"Um, well. I don't know what a Vulcan is, but since you're half human I'll let you live for now."

No one looked quite sure how to react. The demon said smoothly, "Thank you."

The one called James glanced sidelong at him as though he were insane.

Turning his attention back to Linnet, he asked, "Well, you know who we are. Who are you?"

"Linnet Dalton," she answered, though she felt it was kind of pointless. On Earth most of the demons she ran into vaguely recognized her name, but she was sometimes confused for another Virginian slayer named Lynn, which was incredibly embarrassing because Lynn Ramsey was only sixteen.

"Is this planet your home?" asked James. She could take that to mean it wasn't theirs, she supposed. How strange. How'd they get here?

"Earth is my home."

The men all shared a look.

"How'd you end up here?" asked Sulu.

"Uhhh …" Linnet remembered how ridiculous these things could sound to people who hadn't been surrounded by magic since the age of thirteen. Telling them a demon cast a spell on her seemed so stupid al the sudden. Accusing someone of being a demon seemed even weirder. They must think her insane. "I made a mistake. Listen." She turned her attention over to Spock, trying to keep her eyes away from his ears. "That thing about killing you. I'm sorry about that. I've been having a bad day."

Spock just looked at her, and an uncertain silence passed.

"Are you … guys from Earth?" She hoped that wasn't an obvious question.

"Well, Spock's not," James answered lightly. "But Sulu and I are. Here, you know what, we'll take you back to the ship. We'll see about getting you back there." He smiled charmingly.

"Oh," said Linnet, feeling awkward. Suddenly she was acutely aware of how she must look. Her makeup smeared, her eyes red, her hair falling out of its braids. Her social skills were kind of lacking when it came to men, as slaying tended to interfere with the whole dating scene, and honestly she didn't know how to respond to the captain's flirtatious smile. "I wouldn't want you to go out of your way just for me."

"It's really no problem."

Sulu rolled his eyes, and Spock spared James a glance.

"Honestly, I'm not sure it'd do any good."

"What do you mean?"

"It's complicated." Then the obvious hit her. "What year is it?"

"Year?" He frowned. "2258."

Linnet relaxed her stance in shock. "_What_?"

"2258," Spock supplied helpfully.

"Uhnn," she said intelligently. "Oh Jesus."

"Are you all right?" asked Sulu.

Linnet sat back down, rested her chin atop her knees. "No, I'm not. This is the second worst thing to ever happen to me." And fast approaching _the_ worst thing, but that would only happen if she were positive there was no way home. For now, she held out hope, and that incident with the parasite still haunted her enough to keep the number one spot in the list of Horrible Things That Have Happened to Linnet.

"We should go back to the ship," said Sulu.

Spock nodded. "Dr. McCoy should examine her, to be sure she is sound of mind."

"Hey!" snapped Linnet, but it was with a half-hearted indignation. "I'm perfectly 'sound of mind.' I'm just a little lost."

"Scotty," James said into a talky-thing. "Beam us up."

Linnet nearly had a panic attack when the white light tendrils began to shimmer around their bodies. _Not this again_.

But this time there was no darkness. The light faded away swiftly to reveal a bright, white room. They seemed to be on a dais, and off on the floor was console of sorts, with a cheery looking man seated at it.

Linnet's slayer sense was screaming at her. Rapidly, she unfolded from her position on the floor and whirled around, just in time to grab the wrist of a severely startled man, who was holding what looked like some kind of gun. Her reflexes kicked in and she pulled back her free arm, only to send a punch straight into the man's solar plexus, with so much force that he was propelled backwards against the wall. The gun fell from his hand, and then Linnet realized it didn't exactly look like a gun. Actually, it more resembled a hypodermic needle.

"Oops."

* * *

_A/N: I just want to thank all my reviewers. You guys are the best! You made me one very happy writer, and inspired me to get writing asap. Thanks to everyone who put me on alerts, too. :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Keeping everyone in characer is high on my list of priorities, so do let me know how I'm doing!_


	3. Onboard

The room was silent like the vacuum of space. A total of seven people were staring at her with varying degrees of shock and mistrust. Linnet had backed herself into a corner, defensive mode in overdrive, very aware of the error she had just made.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed, startling everyone back into action as Kirk and Sulu rushed to the prone man's side. The rest stood watching her cautiously. "What was he going to inject me with?"

The man who'd come at her struggled to rise with the aid of his companions, clutching at his gut in agony. "A vaccine," he coughed, shooting a glare at her, "to ensure you don't become susceptible to any diseases you may have been not been exposed to before now."

Linnet shifted her weight anxiously. She'd only been following instincts, but that didn't make her feel any less guilty. "You … you really shouldn't sneak up on people like that," she half-muttered, half-choked. She let her fists relax down to her sides and was opening her mouth to declare her sincerest apologies when the Spock demon came at her so suddenly she had no time to react before he grabbed her by the shoulder and the slayer collapsed.

* * *

"Spock!"

"Yes, Captain?"

"That wasn't necessary," Jim huffed, stooping to lift the young Linnet Dalton into his arms.

"I disagree," Spock stated calmly. "She is clearly dangerous."

James shook his head at the Vulcan. "She's a kid. She was just alarmed, that's all."

"I'm gonna have to take Spock's side on this, Jim," McCoy spoke up, wincing slightly with the effort. "That _hurt_."

"Don't be a baby, Bones."

"Just wait till you sneak up behind that chick."

Jim grunted as he handed Linnet over to Spock, who quirked on eyebrow at him in question.

"You did it," Jim explained. "You carry her to the medical bay."

Determined not to let Jim see him bothered, Spock nodded his head curtly. "Yes, Captain." He departed down the hallway with the girl, ignoring the questioning looks cadets sent him.

Upon entering a more deserted corridor, Spock allowed himself to glance down at the woman in his arms and examine her. For someone of such small stature, her earlier display of strength was particularly remarkable. In addition to that her senses seemed highly attuned. Planetside she had managed to evade them for far too long, and Spock was fairly certain she had willingly given herself up when they finally found her. There could be no doubt about her reflexes. She had sent Dr. McCoy flying before anyone else had even realized he was there.

It was decidedly strange. By all appearances she was a normal, perhaps extra dainty, young Earth woman. She was dressed in a strapless blue dress that went down to her knees. Her brunette hair was pulled into two braids with mismatched bands that rested upon her chest, approaching her waist-line in length. He supposed vanity was what compelled her to keep it so long, for it certainly was not practical for someone who apparently knew how to fight. Her face was round and her features soft. She had a small mouth but large, protuberant eyes, almost bug-like in appearance. Spock had to wonder if she were even human. He knew looks could be deceiving but this was a whole new level.

He entered the medical bay. A cadet directed him over to a free bed and he delicately laid her down. With a small amount of chagrin, he noticed her dress had become hiked up in the process, and she was unintentionally displaying a bit more thigh than was at all modest. Discreetly, he tugged it back down, glancing around quickly to make sure the nurse had not seen that it caught his attention.

"Get restraints," he said, righting himself. "She needs to be strapped down."

The nurse shot him an uncertain look, but nodded and obeyed, securing the young woman with the rarely used surgical restraints attached to the gurney.

Seconds later, McCoy entered the bay with Jim at his side. He sat down on the edge of a bed nearby, regarding the girl warily.

"Hey," said Jim, coming over to stand next to Spock, "restraints? Do you think that's really necessary?"

"I do," said Spock at the same time McCoy said, "Yes!"

Jim looked between the two before turning his attention to the unconscious girl. "She already doesn't trust us. Remove the restraints."

"Captain, permission to speak freely."

Jim sighed. Spock could be annoying professional. "Granted."

"I do not believe it is wise to leave her free like this."

"If we restrain her, when she wakes up she'll just be even more alarmed and from what I saw in the transporter room that's not something we want."

"A logical point, but it is perhaps more dangerous to leave her unrestrained. When she awakens her situation might be explained to her without further injury."

"Well we'll just keep you nearby if she over-reacts again."

Spock met Jim's grin blankly.

Jim turned to McCoy. "Bones, I want you to examine her and make sure she's not bringing anything contagious in from the planet, and vaccinate her so she doesn't catch anything while on board."

McCoy nodded, wincing slightly. Jim slapped him on the back. "Good man."

Spock followed Jim up to the bridge. When Jim finally noticed, he said, "I thought I told you to stay with the girl?"

"You implicated as much," Spock clarified. "But barring any sudden jolts she should not awaken for another hour at least."

"Ah."

"Do you really plan to turn around and drop her off on Earth?"

"I do."

"That's very far out of our way. You will need the approval of Admiral Pike for that."

"I know."

When Spock returned to the medical bay, McCoy was up and measuring the girl's vitals. Well, he wasn't so much measuring, as gaping at the monitor in disbelief.

"What is it?" Spock asked.

"Everything. Her heart rate, her blood pressure, cholesterol, everything. It's all perfect. _Ideal_. I checked her blood for infections, completely clean — I even went over her DNA for hereditary diseases. She has nothing. She's the healthiest person I've ever encountered."

Spock shifted his gaze from the monitor to the soundly sleeping form of the girl. "Fascinating."

* * *

Linnet blinked, trying to clear the bleariness from her eyes without much success. Her head felt clouded from sleep. When things came into focus she took in her surroundings — she was in a medical facility. There were nurses in uniforms scattered about the mostly unoccupied beds, checking up on patients, no one really taking any notice of her. What was this? She beat some guy up and they put _her_ in the hospital? It didn't make any sense.

"How are you feeling?"

Linnet startled at the sound of that cold, mechanical voice. It didn't seem the least concerned with her answer, but was merely asking as a polite formality. She glanced over to her right to see the pointy-eared creature watching her placidly. She narrowed her eyes.

"What did you do to me?"

"I used a Vulcan technique to render you unconscious. I assure you, it is perfectly safe."

"My limbs feel heavy," she said, wide-eyed.

"A side-effect of the vaccine you were given."

"I …" Linnet felt her heart quicken. She felt slow, weak. Not something she was used, or at all comfortable with. "Did you … did you sedate me?"

"I did not," he answered coolly.

Linnet didn't buy it. She didn't trust him as far as … well, as far as Hadley could throw him. "I feel so weak," she said helplessly. "You did something."

"We have nothing but the intention of helping you. At this moment Captain Kirk is sending a message to the admiral for permission to return to Earth. At this distance it should take a while before we receive a response."

Linnet scrutinized him.

"I'd rather be put back where you found me, actually," she said.

"I'll tell the Captain, but for now you must come with me." He rose from his seat at her bedside elegantly, and explained, "We're putting you in the spare quarters."

The Spock demon held out his hand to assist her out of bed. Linnet stared at it a moment before ignoring it and attempting to rise on her own.

The drugs must've been affecting her more than she realized, for the moment she put weight on her legs her knees gave in, and she fell against Spock. The Vulcan caught her reflexively. Linnet blushed.

"I'm usually way more graceful," she said, trying and failing to stand on her own. "Sorry."

Spock steadied the girl, but did not let go. "You need assistance until the effects of the vaccine wear off. It will be easier if you accept this."

Linnet nodded reluctantly. "Fine, but don't get too touchy."

Spock promised he would not, and led her out of the medical bay into the corridors. The whole time Linnet gazed around in wide-eyed silence, the demon's presence fading to the back of her mind. She was ever aware that he was there (it was hard to forget when his strong arm was wrapped around her waist), but the bright and bustling surroundings distracted her. People, she assumed crew, were running about nonstop, carrying electronic clipboards and all of them looking at her curiously. She'd never felt so out of place.

The reality of being on a spaceship was astounding, but she'd handled worse shock in her life. Learning of her destiny, meeting her first vamp, her near-encounter with Dracula, the discovery of her brother sacrificing virgin girls to hell gods … All and all this wasn't that earth shattering.

When they came to a door in an empty corridor, Spock commanded, "Computer, open door."

Linnet started back as the door slid open in response. Spock helped her into the room and into a metal chair by a small table. The room was nice, if a little too bright for her liking. It lacked a certain ambience. She wouldn't be able to tolerate the Spartan decor for too long, she figured. Hopefully she wouldn't have to.

As she settled herself in, Spock broke out the talky thing and said into it, "Captain, I have transferred the woman to the spare quarters."

"Excellent," she heard the reply back. "I'll be there shortly."

Linnet watched Spock warily. "The _woman_ has a name," she said.

"I am aware," was all he said.

There was an awkward silence, and Linnet seemed to be the only one aware of just how awkward it was.

"So …" she said, feeling obligated to talk. "You're not human?"

"I am half human," he replied evenly, his brown eyes staring into hers emotionlessly.

"Right. Half … Vul … can?"

"That is correct."

"What are Vulcans?"

"A race of humanoids native to the planet Vulcan."

"Then you're an alien," she said, wondering exactly what that entailed. Whether or not aliens fell under "forces of darkness" wasn't really clear to her. There _were_ alien demons, she knew that much from the watcher journals she'd read from Buffy Summers's time, but Spock sure as hell didn't look like a queller.

"That is a primitive term," he said with a slight nod. "But the Vulcan species is alien to Earth, yes."

"I see."

Another silence.

"Can I touch your ears?"

Linnet felt a certain amount of triumph at having provoked a response as Spock's brown eyes went large and his mouth fell slightly open, but before he could respond properly the doors slid open and Captain James T. Kirk strode in, all smiles.

"Glad to see you're awake!" he said to Linnet as he took a seat up beside Spock.

Linnet smiled politely. "Commander Spock said you were asking someone if we could go to Earth?"

The man nodded, but his jubilance slipped slightly. "Uh, yes. I'm having a bit of trouble getting through to him. Earth is kind of … far away, and we kind of have a mission we're supposed to be working on."

The slayer shrugged. "Well, I appreciate your trying, but it doesn't really matter. Everyone I know is long dead, anyway."

"What happened?"

"Long story." She thought about that. "Well, actually, really short story. I was born in the year 1990."

Kirk gaped. "That would make you 268 years old."

Linnet nodded. "And yet, I'm only 19." She was sure they'd think she was crazy, but decided she didn't care. She knew nothing about this world and trying to fabricate a new life just didn't seem worth the effort, especially with the vaccines making her drowsy.

"You are not from this time," Spock said astutely.

She stared at him. "Does time travel exist in this century?"

Kirk shrugged. "We had a little experience with it a few months ago. Some Romulans from the future. Interesting that now we have something from the past, too."

"How did you come to be here?" asked Spock.

"Demon spell," she answered without thinking. "Er. I mean, I have no idea."

In a surprisingly similar gesture, both men narrowed their eyes curiously.

"Demon spell," Kirk deadpanned.

"We should have her mental health evaluated," said Spock.

Linnet puffed out air indignantly. "My mental health is fine." She heaved a sigh. Since her activation, she'd had to explain her calling to a grand total of four people and it was always extremely awkward. She knew how stupid it all sounded. "Have you ever heard of slayers?"

"You mean people who kill?" said Kirk.

"No!" Linnet sat up straight in her chair. She could feel the vaccine effects wearing off, finally. "I'm not a killer, at least not how you're thinking of it. The things I _slay_ are inhuman. Evil. Vampires, demons, forces of darkness. Out of every generation one girl is born to fight them all. Or, in recent years, many girls." She leaned forward earnestly. "I know this sounds ridiculous, but think about it. My strength, my reflexes. Those are supernatural gifts. I'm human, and a human girl shouldn't be able to throw a grown man against the wall."

Kirk looked to Spock, who merely quirked on eyebrow.

"Just how strong are you?" Kirk asked, smiling slightly. He was obviously humoring her.

Annoyed, Linnet asked, "Would you like a display?"

* * *

_AN: Thanks so much for all the reviews! You have made me very happy. I'm so sorry for the delay in updating. Life has kinda gotten in the way. I intended this to be longer but i thought it was better to give y'all something than have you wait even longer. Let me know what you think!_


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